Lyons: Fireworks fired at Osprey bird rookery

Published: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 12:16 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 5:17 p.m.

Bird lovers who have been trying to save a shore bird nesting area on two golf course islands in Osprey got a flaming surprise Sunday night.

So so did hundreds of the birds.

Two residents who live next to The Oaks Club golf course called the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office soon after dark Sunday to report that projectile fireworks were being launched from a neighbor's yard, and quite accurately, onto one of the two island.

The flaming streaks of light and four explosions caused many herons and other birds to flee in panic from the rookery, they said.

When deputies arrived at the launch point, residents Page and Thomas Halpin admitted what they had done.

“They told me they did shoot fireworks at the birds,” a deputy's report says.

“The birds are a huge nuisance,” the couple told the deputy, because the golf course islands are so crammed with them that they are smelly and noisy.

The deputy warned that what they did could result in criminal charges. A sheriff's spokeswoman says the matter has been referred to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Page Halpin talked to me, too. She said the fireworks thing was an act of frustration.

“It was not the smartest thing I've ever done,” Halpin admitted, right off the bat.

She said she and her husband and 9-year-old son were grilling in the backyard and started talking about whether a few fireworks might encourage some of the birds to live elsewhere. And then, they just did it.

“It didn't work,” she said. “It was a dumb idea.”

Halpin's years of appreciating wild birds near her home ended a few years back, she said, when the islands near their backyard became so heavily populated with herons and cormorants and other birds that the smell and other effects made their back patio a horror at times.

“We have bird poop everywhere,” she told me. The family's pool cage and roof sometimes gets covered. Though the smell from the islands isn't bad right now, wait until hotter weather.

“On a windy day in June when it's about 90 degrees and the wind is from the west, I'm giving you a call,” Halpin said. “We've got a health hazard.”

An wildlife commission spokesman tells me there are numerous state and federal laws that ban using fireworks against nesting shore birds. Fireworks can be used in some agricultural areas with a permit to scare some kinds of birds away from crops. But in this case, it seems to be the wrong birds, and the Halpins don't have a permit and don't own the land where the birds are nesting.

The wildlife commission is already well aware of the birds and the two golf course islands. A legal dispute started over them four months ago.

Local bird groups say the islands are one of Sarasota County's top shore bird rookeries. The state wildlife commission stopped The Oaks Club management after it had started — with commission permit in hand in December 2012 — to clear one of the islands of invasive Brazilian pepper trees.

The club's not-always-stated aim was to evict many of the birds that nest in those trees, in hopes that most would not return when the island was replanted with native plants. That plan was inspired by neighbors and golfers, especially the Halpins, who had complained about the smell and noise.

But some neighbors, including Beverly Meadows, played a key part in getting the state to suspend the clearing permit.

With the land clearing halted when half done on one island, and with the other not slated for clearing until next year, Meadows thought remaining roosting and nesting sites were safe at least until a scheduled June hearing.

But Sunday night, she and her husband saw the fiery assault and called the Sheriff's Office.

Meadows said she was stunned to see those streaks of fire aimed “like a line drive,” and hitting the island, each followed by an explosion. Meadows feared brush on the island would catch fire.

Halpin said starting a fire never crossed their minds.

“We've gone through the correct channels to reduce the birds and here we sit in April” waiting for a hearing set for June that may not result in any solution, Halpin said.

The birds could easily nest elsewhere, she insists, and her family shouldn't have to move to escape the problem.

“I'm frustrated from the lack of cooperation from my neighbors,” she said. Those who live far enough away to miss the bad effects don't seem to get it.

I get why the disagreement led to fireworks. But until Sunday, I assumed they would be just be metaphorical.

<p>Bird lovers who have been trying to save a shore bird nesting area on two golf course islands in Osprey got a flaming surprise Sunday night.</p><p>So so did hundreds of the birds.</p><p>Two residents who live next to The Oaks Club golf course called the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office soon after dark Sunday to report that projectile fireworks were being launched from a neighbor's yard, and quite accurately, onto one of the two island. </p><p>The flaming streaks of light and four explosions caused many herons and other birds to flee in panic from the rookery, they said.</p><p>When deputies arrived at the launch point, residents Page and Thomas Halpin admitted what they had done.</p><p>“They told me they did shoot fireworks at the birds,” a deputy's report says. </p><p>“The birds are a huge nuisance,” the couple told the deputy, because the golf course islands are so crammed with them that they are smelly and noisy.</p><p>The deputy warned that what they did could result in criminal charges. A sheriff's spokeswoman says the matter has been referred to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.</p><p>Page Halpin talked to me, too. She said the fireworks thing was an act of frustration.</p><p>“It was not the smartest thing I've ever done,” Halpin admitted, right off the bat.</p><p>She said she and her husband and 9-year-old son were grilling in the backyard and started talking about whether a few fireworks might encourage some of the birds to live elsewhere. And then, they just did it.</p><p>“It didn't work,” she said. “It was a dumb idea.”</p><p>Halpin's years of appreciating wild birds near her home ended a few years back, she said, when the islands near their backyard became so heavily populated with herons and cormorants and other birds that the smell and other effects made their back patio a horror at times.</p><p>“We have bird poop everywhere,” she told me. The family's pool cage and roof sometimes gets covered. Though the smell from the islands isn't bad right now, wait until hotter weather.</p><p>“On a windy day in June when it's about 90 degrees and the wind is from the west, I'm giving you a call,” Halpin said. “We've got a health hazard.”</p><p>An wildlife commission spokesman tells me there are numerous state and federal laws that ban using fireworks against nesting shore birds. Fireworks can be used in some agricultural areas with a permit to scare some kinds of birds away from crops. But in this case, it seems to be the wrong birds, and the Halpins don't have a permit and don't own the land where the birds are nesting.</p><p>The wildlife commission is already well aware of the birds and the two golf course islands. A legal dispute started over them four months ago.</p><p>Local bird groups say the islands are one of Sarasota County's top shore bird rookeries. The state wildlife commission stopped The Oaks Club management after it had started — with commission permit in hand in December 2012 — to clear one of the islands of invasive Brazilian pepper trees.</p><p>The club's not-always-stated aim was to evict many of the birds that nest in those trees, in hopes that most would not return when the island was replanted with native plants. That plan was inspired by neighbors and golfers, especially the Halpins, who had complained about the smell and noise. </p><p>But some neighbors, including Beverly Meadows, played a key part in getting the state to suspend the clearing permit.</p><p>With the land clearing halted when half done on one island, and with the other not slated for clearing until next year, Meadows thought remaining roosting and nesting sites were safe at least until a scheduled June hearing. </p><p>But Sunday night, she and her husband saw the fiery assault and called the Sheriff's Office.</p><p>Meadows said she was stunned to see those streaks of fire aimed “like a line drive,” and hitting the island, each followed by an explosion. Meadows feared brush on the island would catch fire.</p><p>Halpin said starting a fire never crossed their minds.</p><p>“We've gone through the correct channels to reduce the birds and here we sit in April” waiting for a hearing set for June that may not result in any solution, Halpin said. </p><p>The birds could easily nest elsewhere, she insists, and her family shouldn't have to move to escape the problem.</p><p>“I'm frustrated from the lack of cooperation from my neighbors,” she said. Those who live far enough away to miss the bad effects don't seem to get it.</p><p>I get why the disagreement led to fireworks. But until Sunday, I assumed they would be just be metaphorical.</p>